PSYCHOLOGY OF TRAUMA (PSYC 140T)
University of California, Santa Cruz
Spring 2011
Professor
Class meets
Eileen Zurbriggen
Mon/Wed 5:00-6:45 pm
381 Social Sciences 2
150 Stevenson
459-5736
zurbrigg@ucsc.edu
Office Hours: Tues 9:30-10:30 and by appointment
Teaching Assistants
Ella Ben Hagai
ebenhaga@ucsc.edu
445 Social Sciences 2
459-4755
Office Hours: Thursday 12:00-1:00
Sections meet
Th 8:30-9:40 323 Kresge
Th 10:00-11:10 323 Kresge
Robert Majzler
rmajzler@ucsc.edu
202 Social Sciences 2
459-4876
Office Hours: TBA
Fri 12:30-1:40 179 Soc Sci 2
Fri 3:30-4:40 179 Soc Sci 2
Final Exam
Monday, June 6, 7:30-10:30pm
Course Web Page
http://people.ucsc.edu/~zurbrigg/psy140t/
Required Texts
The following texts are required. The book are available at Bay Tree bookstore; they are also on
reserve at the McHenry Library.
(1) Herman, J. L. (1997). Trauma and recovery. New York: Basic Books.
(2) Shay, J. (1994). Achilles in Vietnam: Combat trauma and the undoing of character. New
York: Touchstone Books.
(3) Coursepack readings (available through eCommons)
Course Goals
This course provides an overview of psychological theory and research on trauma and traumatic
stress, including responses to childhood trauma (especially sexual abuse), combat, natural
disasters, and terrorism. A variety of theoretical frameworks are presented, including
developmental, cognitive, neuropsychological, clinical, and social/contextual. The course is
designed to acquaint you with some of the key issues, questions, and findings in the study of
trauma and traumatic stress, as well as to allow you to develop some of the critical skills needed
by research psychologists.
Prerequisites
Students should have successfully completed Psychology 1 (Introduction to Psychology),
Psychology 2 (Introduction to Psychological Statistics), and Psychology 3 or Psychology 100
(Research Methods in Psychology), or their equivalent.
Academic Honesty
All work submitted in this course must be your own and produced exclusively for this
course. The use of sources (ideas, quotations, paraphrases) must be properly acknowledged and
documented. For the consequences of academic dishonesty, refer to the student guide available
on the web at:
http://www.ucsc.edu/academics/academic_integrity/undergraduate_students
Violations will be taken seriously. If you are in doubt regarding any aspect of these
issues as they pertain to this course, please consult with the instructor or teaching assistant before
you complete any relevant requirements of the course. In addition, you may consult the
following resources:
NetTrail:
http://nettrail.ucsc.edu/ (Section XI, Info Ethics)
The Council on Writing Program Administrators statement on Defining and Avoiding
Plagiarism:
http://www.wpacouncil.org/positions/WPAplagiarism.pdf
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
If you qualify for classroom accommodations because of a disability, please get an
Accommodation Authorization from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and submit it to the
instructor in person outside of class (e.g., office hours) within the first two weeks of the quarter.
Contact DRC at 459-2089 (voice), 459-4806 (TTY), or http://drc.ucsc.edu/ for more information
on the requirements and/or process.
Requirements
The structure of the course and the set of assignments are designed to facilitate a critical
engagement with the material in the course. Specific assignments and their relative weights are
as follows:
1) Quiz (15%)
2) Midterm Exam (30%)
3) Final Exam (40%)
4) Section grade (15%)
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Examinations
Exams will cover material from the required readings, lectures, guest speakers, films, and
discussion sections. Anything that is covered in lecture or section may appear on the exams;
therefore, if you must miss a lecture or section please talk to a classmate and check the online
schedule to find out what you missed.
For both the quiz (on 4/18) and the midterm (on 5/9), question format may include
multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and short essay. The quiz will cover material from
3/28, 3/30, 4/4, and 4/6. The midterm will cover material from 4/11 through 5/4. The final exam
will consist only of multiple choice questions. It will be cumulative, but will place a somewhat
greater emphasis on material that hasn't previously been tested (i.e., material after 5/9).
Evaluation
Letter grades will be assigned as follows:
A+: 97 - 100
A: 93-96
B+: 87 - 89
B: 83 - 86
C+: 77 - 79
C: 73 - 76
D: 60-69
F: 59 or below.
A- : 90 - 92
B- : 80 - 82
C- : 70 - 72
Especially stellar in-class participation may be used to “bump up” people on the borderline
between two grades.
Additional Notes
(1) Makeup exams (early or late) will be given only under extraordinary circumstances. It
is unfair to other students to ask for a makeup exam unless there is an exceptionally good reason.
(2) Some of the videotapes we will watch are emotionally arousing. The web page will have
information about the content of the videos; please check it before coming to class. I will also
give you an overview of the content before showing the tape. You may elect not to view videos
if you think they might upset you. Please also do not hesitate to slip out of the room during
viewing, if you need to do that.
(3) I am committed to fostering an atmosphere in which we can engage in vigorous discussion
while remaining courteous, respectful, and professional. I trust that you share that commitment.
If at any point during the quarter you feel that this atmosphere of civility is being threatened,
please let me and/or your TA know immediately.
(4) Studying trauma can be difficult emotionally. This is especially true for those who have
been victimized. Because the mission of the course is academic rather than therapeutic, only
limited kinds of support can be provided. For that reason, I urge you to plan ahead (now) for
external emotional support from supportive friends, a therapist or counselor, or a social service
agency. Some area resources are listed on the next page. Please note that I do not assume any
responsibility for the quality of services offered by these organizations.
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Area Resources
Probably the best place to call first (free and a good source for other referrals):
UCSC Counseling and Psychological Services (459-2628)
Other resources:
County Mental Health Hotline 454-4022 ,763-8990
Suicide Prevention: 458-5300 24 hour service
Survivor's Healing Center (423-7601)
Youth Services : 425-0771 24 hour service
Battered Women's Task Force: 429-0145
Child Protective Services: 454-4222, 763-8118
Adult Protective Services: 454-4101, 763-8100
Rape Crisis Hotline + 24 Hour Women's Crisis Support (429-1478)
Women's Crisis Support/Defensa de Mujeres (685-3737)
Walnut Avenue Women's Center (426-3062)
Sexual Abuse Referral and Treatment (800-852-5209)
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Schedule - Spring 2011
Psychology of Trauma
Please note that the following schedule of dates, topics, and readings is tentative and subject to
change. Any changes will be announced in class and posted on the course schedule page online.
Day
3/28
3/30
4/4
4/6
4/11
4/13
4/18
4/20
4/25
4/27
5/2
5/4
Topic
Introduction
History and Prevalence
Shay p. xii
Stoler (2002)
Herman Intro, Ch 1
Responses to Trauma
Herman Ch 2,3
Psychiatric Diagnoses
Shay Intro, Ch 1-4
DSM excerpts
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Herman Ch 4
Guest speaker: Survivor's Healing Center
Film: Waltz with Bashir
Dissociation
Oldham (2003)
PTSD
Herman Ch 5-6
Shay Ch 10
Perpetration
Bennett & Williams (2001)
Shay Chs 5-7
Meehan (2010)
Memory
Schooler (1999/1994)
Enns (2004)
Cognitive Processes
Freyd & DePrince (2001)
Special Topics: Human Trafficking
Farley et al. (2003
Guest speaker: Dorene Dawson
Rafferty (2008)
5/9
5/11
Neuroscience Approaches
5/16
Special Topics: Torture [TENTATIVE]
Exam
QUIZ
MIDTERM
5/18
5/23
Intergenerational Issues
Recovery/Healing/Therapy
5/25
Recovery as a Social Process/
Guest speaker: Cath Byrne
Recovery as a Social Process
6/1
Reading
Bremner (2002): Ch 4, 7
Baard (2003)
Lefer (2005)
Hanscom (2001)
Zurbriggen (2008)
Lisak & Beszterczey (2007)
Herman Chs 7-10
Shay Ch 11
Herman Ch 11
Shay Conclusion
Staub (2006)
6/6
FINAL EXAM
7:30-10:30pm
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Coursepack Readings - Spring 2011
Psychology of Trauma
Psychology 140T
Please note that the following list of readings is tentative and subject to change. Any changes
will be announced in class and posted on the course schedule page online.
1. Stoler, L. (2002). Researching childhood sexual abuse: Anticipating effects on the researcher.
Feminism and Psychology, 12, 269-274.
2. Excerpts from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Edition, DSM-IVTR).
3. Oldham, P. E. (2003, February 18). A flight of mind: The act of dissociation can protect
children emotionally from trauma, but repeated use may cause lasting harm. Washington Post, p.
HE1.
4. Bennett, L. W., & Williams, O. J. (2001). Intervention programs for men who batter. In C. M
Renzetti, J. L. Edleson, & R. K. Bergen (Eds.), Sourcebook on violence against women (pp. 261277). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
5. Meehan, S. P. (2010, February 22). Distant wars, constant ghosts. New York Times.
Downloaded from: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/distant-wars-constantghosts/?pagemode=print
6. Schooler, J. W. (1999/1994). Seeking the core: The issues and evidence surrounding recovered
accounts of sexual trauma. In L. M. Williams & V. L. Banyard (Eds.), Trauma and memory (pp.
203-216). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Reprinted from Consciousness and Cognition, 3, 452469.]
7. Enns, C. Z. (2004). The politics and psychology of false memory syndrome. In J. C.
Chrisler, C. Golden, and P. D. Rozee (Eds.), Lectures on the psychology women (3rd edition)
(pp. 356-373). New York: McGraw-Hill.
8. Freyd, J. J., & DePrince, A. P. (2001). Perspectives on memory for trauma and cognitive
processes associated with dissociative tendencies. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and
Trauma, 4(2), 137-163.
9. Farley, M., Cotton, A., Lynne, J., Zumbeck, S., Spiwak, F., Reyes, M. E., Alvarez, D., &
Sezgin, U. (2003). Prostitution and trafficking in nine countries: An update on violence and
posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Trauma Practice, 2, 33-74.
10. Rafferty, Y. (2008). The impact of trafficking on children: Psychological and social policy
perspectives. Child Development Perspectives, 2, 13-18.
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11. Bremner, J. D. (2002). Effects of stress on memory and brain (Ch. 4, pp. 100-135) and PTSD
and other stress-related psychiatric disorders as diseases of the brain caused by stress (Ch. 7, pp
221-248). In Does stress damage the brain? Understanding trauma-related disorders from a
mind-body perspective. New York: W. W. Norton.
12. Baard, E. (2003, January 22). New science raises the specter of a world without regret..
Village Voice. Retrieved from: http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0304,baard,41331,1.html
13. Lefer, D. (2005, October). The blessing is next to the wound: A conversation with Hector
Aristizabal about torture and transformation. The Sun, 5-13.
14. Hanscom, K. L. (2001). Treating survivors of war trauma and torture. American
Psychologist, 56, 1032-1039.
15. Zurbriggen, E. L. (2008). Sexualized torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison: Feminist
psychological analyses. Feminism and Psychology, 18, 301-320.
16. Lisak, D., & Beszterczey, S. (2007). The cycle of violence: The life histories of 43 death row
inmates. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 8, 118-128.
17. Staub, E. (2006). Reconciliation after genocide, mass killing, or intractable conflict:
Understanding the roots of violence, psychological recovery, and steps toward a general theory.
Political Psychology, 27, 867-894.
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